Kenya's opposition calls for a boycott to protest the deaths of 24 people in post-election clashes

Kenya’s main opposition leader, Raila Odinga, addressed rallies of cheering supporters in two Nairobi strongholds Sunday and called for a work stoppage to protest the deaths of at least 24 people in post-election clashes with police.

Senior figures in the opposition National Super Alliance have ruled out a legal challenge, despite calls from international observers to resolve their complaints in court.

In an escalation of Kenya's deadly election violence, police on Saturday fired live ammunition at rioters and used tear gas on vehicles carrying opposition officials trying to enter a Nairobi slum where they have strong support.

The chaos in the Nairobi slums of Mathare and Kibera, as well as in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu city, contrasted with widespread calm - and celebrations in some areas - in the country of 45 million after Kenya's election commission said late Friday that President Uhuru Kenyatta won a second term.

Washington Post -

At least 24 reportedly killed in Kenya post-election violence

One day after President Uhuru Kenyatta was reelected in a fiercely contested and divisive vote, violence erupted across parts of Kenya in clashes between protesters and security forces.

At least 24 people, including a 6-year-old child, have been killed since the election results were announced Friday night, according to the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights. “Deaths can be directly linked to the elections and post-election environment,” said Kagwiria Mbogori, chairman of the commission.

24 killed in Kenyan election violence, many after police open fire on opposition protesters

At least 24 people have been shot by police in violence during Kenya’s disputed election, according to Kenyan human rights observers, including many killed in protests in opposition strongholds after President Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory late Friday.

Police on Saturday fired live bullets and tear gas on protesters in volatile areas of Nairobi and other parts of the country, provoking anger from opposition supporters and condemnation from human rights activists.

New York Times -

Protests Rage On in Kenya After President Is Re-Elected

As the smell of tear gas and smoke from burning debris clung to the morning mist, residents began assessing the damage from the previous night’s protests after the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta, a vote that many in this part of western Kenya believe was stolen, even though international observers concluded that it was fair and transparent.

The sun had barely risen, but protesters were already bracing for another wave of confrontations with the police in the city of Kisumu on Saturday after an election disputed by supporters of Kenya’s opposition party.

Kenya's post-election violence worsened Saturday as police used tear gas on a convoy o opposition officials in the capital and a mortuary official said nine bodies with gunshot wounds were brought to a Nairobi morgue from a slum that's an opposition stronghold.

As rioting continued the day after President Uhuru Kenyatta won a second term in a vote the opposition claims had been rigged, an anguished father said his 9-year-old daughter was killed by a stray bullet while playing with friends.

The Guardian -

Kenyan protests against Kenyatta election victory turn deadly

At least two people have been shot dead in Kenya during protests by opposition supporters against the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta, officials said.

Protests flared in opposition strongholds in Nairobi and Kisumu after the election commission declared Kenyatta the victor in a hotly disputed vote. A girl also died after being hit by a stray bullet while standing on a balcony as police were firing sporadic shots, a witness told Reuters.

Kenya's president wins another term; protests break out in opposition areas

Kenya’s incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta was officially declared the winner Friday of a heated election that his rival claims to have won, setting off violent protests in some opposition strongholds.

Reports of rioting in several slum districts of the capital, Nairobi, and in parts of western Kenya stoked fears of a reprise of deadly ethnic fighting that followed another disputed election a decade ago.

CBS News -

President Uhuru Kenyatta declared winner in disputed Kenya election

President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner Friday of Kenya's hard-fought presidential election, but opposition candidate Raila Odinga alleged the voting was rigged.

In announcing the results of Tuesday's contest, the election commission said Kenyatta won a second term with 54 percent in balloting it called "credible, fair and peaceful." Hundreds of riot police were in the streets of the capital, Nairobi, amid fears of further protests by opposition supporters, who called the vote a "charade" and said challenging the outcome in court wasn't an option.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta declared the winner of heated election

Kenya’s incumbent president, Uhuru Kenyatta, was officially declared the winner Friday of a heated election, which an opposition coalition claims to have won.

The electoral commission announced that Kenyatta won just over 54% of the vote Tuesday, compared with 45% for his rival Raila Odinga. Leaders of the opposition National Super Alliance rejected the results before they were announced, saying they had obtained figures from the commission’s computer server showing that Odinga won just over 50% of the vote.

BBC -

Kenya election: Uhuru Kenyatta defeats Raila Odinga

This election was about the political duel between the Kenyatta and Odinga families, which dates back to Kenyan independence in 1963.

Regional leaders, including Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, have congratulated Mr Kenyatta.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday was officially declared the winner of a bitterly disputed election in Kenya, but his opponent, Raila Odinga, refused to concede defeat, criticizing the vote as a “charade” and edging the country closer to violence.

Mr. Kenyatta, 55, was re-elected with just over 54 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s election, easily surpassing the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff, according to an announcement from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

Kenya's electoral commission announced Friday that the current president, Uhuru Kenyatta, has been re-elected, putting an official end to a fierce electoral contest that many fear could still be clouded by a dispute over the results.

Opposition candidate Raila Odinga, 72, has alleged that the results of Tuesday’s balloting were rigged and pledged not to accept them unless he was declared the winner.

Opposition officials in Kenya have refused to sign off on the final results of the presidential election in the east African country, stoking tensions as followers of the incumbent president, Uhuru Kenyatta, prepare to celebrate victory.

Speaking minutes before a long-awaited announcement by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), James Orengo, an opposition leader, said the opposition National Super Alliance (Nasa) had rejected the counting process as a “charade”.

New York Times -

Kenyan Election Tensions Rise as Opposition Claims Fraud

Tensions over Kenya’s presidential election built on Thursday after the opposition leader accused election officials of falsifying the results and handing victory to President Uhuru Kenyatta, the incumbent.

The new claims by the opposition came a day after Mr. Odinga said that election commission servers had been hacked to award Mr. Kenyatta a 10-point lead.

Kenya’s main opposition coalition claimed victory Thursday in a contentious presidential election and demanded that its candidate, Raila Odinga, be declared the winner.

Odinga was trailing by more than 1.4 million votes, according to provisional results released by the country’s election commission with 97% of polling stations reporting. But the opposition professed to have obtained internal commission figures showing that its candidate had defeated the incumbent president, Uhuru Kenyatta.

“Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets...” ― Napoléon Bonaparte